Saturday, December 28
Omaha, Neb.
7:05 p.m.
Omaha
vs
Mount Marty
Photo by: Mary Pritchard
Mavericks Close Out 2024 with Non-Conference Finale
Dec 27, 2024 | Men's Basketball
The Basics
The Mavericks say goodbye to 2024 this week when they close out the year with their non-conference finale vs. Mount Marty this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena.
Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOIL and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• The Mavericks began their final homestand of the year last week with a commanding victory over Cal Poly as they pulled ahead late and held off one last push from the Mustangs to win 86-82.
• Omaha did much of its damage below the net on Saturday, outscoring Cal Poly 40-26 in the paint and 21-7 on second chance points thanks to a season-high 17 offensive rebounds. That total is Omaha's highest since pulling down 17 offensive boards at Denver back on January 18, 2020.
• After his stretch of 10-straight games in double figures was broken two weeks ago in Iowa, Marquel Sutton returned to form with a 24-point effort on Saturday. Shooting 10-for-20, this was the second time this season he has made at least 10 field goals, last doing so at Stetson (Nov. 7). Also pulling down nine rebounds, Sutton ended the night having topped 200 points (221) and 100 rebounds (103) on the season. This was also the 49th double-digit scoring game of Sutton's career.
• Ja'Sean Glover played a massive role in Omaha's rebounding game with a career-high 13 boards. Coming into the night, Glover had 32 rebounds on the season.
• Tying his season high with 14 points last week, Kamryn Thomas became the sixth Maverick to reach 100 points this year as he ended the night with 101.
• Making 4 from behind the arc on Saturday, Tony Osburn now has exactly 50 three-pointers this season and five games with at least three 3-PT FGs.
• Sutton earned his first career Summit League Preseason honor after being named Second Team All-Preseason in October. In 2023-24, he was second on the team with 12.3 PPG (406 total) and led all Mavericks with 6.3 RPG (208 total boards).
• Lance Waddles (NDSU), Joshua Streit (NDSU), and Isaac Ondekane (Lindenwood) headline the Mavericks' top transfers this year with the trio coming to Omaha with a combined six seasons of Division I basketball under their belts. Also new this year are top JUCO transfers Kamryn Thomas (2024 NJCAA Third Team All-American), Khamani Cooper (465 points as a freshman in 2024), and Valentino Simon (965 career points from 2022-24).
• Omaha has three captains this year: Marquel Sutton, Tony Osburn, and Lance Waddles.
• Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 38-59 career record. This season marks his fourth year as a head coach and third with the Mavericks.
Scouting the Mount Marty Lancers
The Lancers bring a 6-7 record to Omaha this week after losing their last five straight. Their last win came on November 26 vs. Hastings College (72-47). Last week they fell 76-66 against Valley City State. Despite this, Mount Marty still boasts a 51.2 FG% on the year.
Leading the Lancers on offense is junior guard Tash Lunday and his impressive 308 points which nearly top the next three highest scorers on the team combined. This total places him at third in the GPAC, while his 23.7 ppg are second. So far, he has yet to score fewer than 15 points in a game this season while at the same time has posted two 30-point games. From the field this year Lunday is shooting 111-for-205 (54.1%). Defensively, he has also shined to the tune of 125 total rebounds and 9.5 rpg, both of which lead the conference.
Also notable this year has been senior guard Brandon Garcia who is second on the team with 122 points (9.4 ppg) and also second in the entire conference in assists with 62. Sophomore guard Mac Ryken has also played well, leading the team in 3-PT FG% (.387) and FT% (.792) as well as ranking 9th in the GPAC with 21 steals.
Now in year four of his first head coaching gig, Collin Authier previously served as an assistant with Augustana for seven seasons and before that at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for another seven years. With Augustana, he helped guide the team to a National Division II title back in 2016.
All-Time Against Mount Marty
Omaha has never lost to Mount Marty, carrying a 2-0 record into this week. Both wins came back in the 90s during the Division II years, including a 79-54 win in 1997 and a 92-59 in 1999.
The Mavericks say goodbye to 2024 this week when they close out the year with their non-conference finale vs. Mount Marty this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Baxter Arena.
Gary Sharp will have the call on 1290 KOIL and links to live stats, audio, and video can be found at OMavs.com.
Quick Hits
• The Mavericks began their final homestand of the year last week with a commanding victory over Cal Poly as they pulled ahead late and held off one last push from the Mustangs to win 86-82.
• Omaha did much of its damage below the net on Saturday, outscoring Cal Poly 40-26 in the paint and 21-7 on second chance points thanks to a season-high 17 offensive rebounds. That total is Omaha's highest since pulling down 17 offensive boards at Denver back on January 18, 2020.
• After his stretch of 10-straight games in double figures was broken two weeks ago in Iowa, Marquel Sutton returned to form with a 24-point effort on Saturday. Shooting 10-for-20, this was the second time this season he has made at least 10 field goals, last doing so at Stetson (Nov. 7). Also pulling down nine rebounds, Sutton ended the night having topped 200 points (221) and 100 rebounds (103) on the season. This was also the 49th double-digit scoring game of Sutton's career.
• Ja'Sean Glover played a massive role in Omaha's rebounding game with a career-high 13 boards. Coming into the night, Glover had 32 rebounds on the season.
• Tying his season high with 14 points last week, Kamryn Thomas became the sixth Maverick to reach 100 points this year as he ended the night with 101.
• Making 4 from behind the arc on Saturday, Tony Osburn now has exactly 50 three-pointers this season and five games with at least three 3-PT FGs.
• Sutton earned his first career Summit League Preseason honor after being named Second Team All-Preseason in October. In 2023-24, he was second on the team with 12.3 PPG (406 total) and led all Mavericks with 6.3 RPG (208 total boards).
• Lance Waddles (NDSU), Joshua Streit (NDSU), and Isaac Ondekane (Lindenwood) headline the Mavericks' top transfers this year with the trio coming to Omaha with a combined six seasons of Division I basketball under their belts. Also new this year are top JUCO transfers Kamryn Thomas (2024 NJCAA Third Team All-American), Khamani Cooper (465 points as a freshman in 2024), and Valentino Simon (965 career points from 2022-24).
• Omaha has three captains this year: Marquel Sutton, Tony Osburn, and Lance Waddles.
• Head Coach Chris Crutchfield has a 38-59 career record. This season marks his fourth year as a head coach and third with the Mavericks.
Scouting the Mount Marty Lancers
The Lancers bring a 6-7 record to Omaha this week after losing their last five straight. Their last win came on November 26 vs. Hastings College (72-47). Last week they fell 76-66 against Valley City State. Despite this, Mount Marty still boasts a 51.2 FG% on the year.
Leading the Lancers on offense is junior guard Tash Lunday and his impressive 308 points which nearly top the next three highest scorers on the team combined. This total places him at third in the GPAC, while his 23.7 ppg are second. So far, he has yet to score fewer than 15 points in a game this season while at the same time has posted two 30-point games. From the field this year Lunday is shooting 111-for-205 (54.1%). Defensively, he has also shined to the tune of 125 total rebounds and 9.5 rpg, both of which lead the conference.
Also notable this year has been senior guard Brandon Garcia who is second on the team with 122 points (9.4 ppg) and also second in the entire conference in assists with 62. Sophomore guard Mac Ryken has also played well, leading the team in 3-PT FG% (.387) and FT% (.792) as well as ranking 9th in the GPAC with 21 steals.
Now in year four of his first head coaching gig, Collin Authier previously served as an assistant with Augustana for seven seasons and before that at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for another seven years. With Augustana, he helped guide the team to a National Division II title back in 2016.
All-Time Against Mount Marty
Omaha has never lost to Mount Marty, carrying a 2-0 record into this week. Both wins came back in the 90s during the Division II years, including a 79-54 win in 1997 and a 92-59 in 1999.
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